The official sports predictions blog of Joshua Huffman, freelance writer who is publisher of the "NFL Predictions against the Spread" series. Blog specializes in NFL predictions from myself and links to other writers' predictions. Occasionally will do predictions for other sports. Check left side bar for more categorized blogs.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The New York Giants are getting healthy and coming off a huge victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3. The Arizona Cardinals are riding a rocky path with Kevin Kolb. Will the Giants play flat or will Eli Manning continue to play well?

The early spread on this game is Giants (-1). Here are some of the key aspects of the game and what to watch out for when betting. All lines from Cooper's Pick and Injury Reports from covers.com as of September 28, 2011. Always keep yourself updated with injury lines because they’ll unexpectedly change throughout the week.

#0: Current Record (Straights Only)

Arizona Cardinals 3-0

New York Giants 1-2

#1: Injuries

The Cardinals could be without RB Beanie Wells. They could use him if they’re going to have a balanced offensive attack against the Giants. He already missed Week 3 and could miss Week 4 with a hamstring injury.

The Giants are getting healthy. Osi Umenyiora is expected to return. Justin Tuck may also return. This should give the Giants a major boost with a vulnerable passing defense that’s missing a plethora of defensive backs.

#2: Larry Fitzgerald & Hakeem Nicks

The Giants are without their shutdown cornerback (Terrell Thomas) and Prince Amukamara. Larry Fitzgerald has put up big numbers this season and exploited teams with weak defensive backs. He’ll be the top concern for the Giants.

The same problem exists for the Cardinals. They’ll need to contain Hakeem Nicks. They have the NFL’s 25th-ranked passing defense. That’s even more disturbing when one considers that they’ve faced Cam Newton, Tavaris Jackson and Rex Grossman in their first three games.

#3 Trends

The New York Giants are 1-0 against NFC West teams. The Arizona Cardinals are 0-1 against NFC East teams. Both teams have lost to the Washington Redskins.

#4: Ahmad Bradshaw vs. Cardinals’ Defense

The Cardinals could have more issues than containing Nicks. They’ve given up just under 400 yards per game. That’s good for 27th in the NFL.

#5: Turnover Ratio

The Giants have been good at creating turnovers. They have a +4 turnover ratio. Some of that is because Michael Vick was knocked out of their Week 3 game.

Final Predictions:

I feel like the Giants offense is too balanced for the Cardinals to stop. I haven’t bought into that whole Kevin Kolb thing. I’m not picking a team that just lost to Tavaris Jackson and couldn’t put up more than 10 points against the Seattle Seahawks. I’m going with the better team over home-field advantage.